2013年07月12日

Twitter was lit up on Thursday afternoon London time with suggestions Prince William's wife had gone into labour.

With the speculation trending and palace spokespeople refusing to comment it was left to The Mirror newspaper to put the rumours to bed.

"Kate Middleton is not in labour - but Twitter is having Braxton Hicks contractions ahead of royal baby's arrival," Asian college of knowledge management the tabloid declared in an online headline.

Braxton Hicks contractions are, as the NHS explains on its website, "irregular, usually painless uterine contractions (that) tend to occur from around the middle of your pregnancy and increase in frequency as your due date nears".

The founder of parenting website Mumsnet appears to have kicked off Thursday's labour Twitter frenzy.

Justine Roberts tweeted: "Hearing that Kate's gorn into labour."

Subsequently other royal watchers tweeted that a helicopter had taken off from Kensington Palace.